Our Blog

Elephant 500 project in Malawi

BBC World Service producer Ben Tavener travelled to Malawi with Africa Exclusive in November 2017. He was bowled over by the amount of wildlife and the important conservation initiatives underway to ensure the long-term survival of the country’s elephant population, and inspired to produce a news report of what he found for the BBC.

Ben’s week-long journey began in the south of Malawi in the Liwonde National Park, which is managed by NGO African Parks. Efforts to protect the elephant here have been hugely successful, and as the elephant are happy and safe, they’ve been breeding rapidly. So much so, in fact, that by early 2016 Liwonde was significantly overpopulated, with an estimated 850 elephant.

When there are too many elephant in an area, there isn’t enough food to go around, and elephant frequently break out of the reserve in search of something to eat, trampling neighbouring farms and villages. Culling elephant is, understandably, very controversial, and castrating them is very difficult, so African Parks conceived the ambitious Elephant 500 programme to move 500 elephant from the Liwonde and Majete National Parks to the Nkhotakhota Widlife Reserve. This also offered an important chance to bolster Nkhotakhota’s own wildlife population, and to restore that fragile ecosystem. In October 2016 Prince Harry spent 3 weeks in Malawi helping with the first phase of project 500, moving 261 elephants to safety.

In Liwonde, Ben stayed with us at the riverside Mvuu Lodge. Mvuu means hippo in Malawi, as there are thought to be 5,000 in the park, but there are plenty of elephant, too! In fact, although 366 of Liwonde’s elephant have now made the move to Nkhotakhota, there are still a huge number to see. Safari guide Angel took Ben out by boat on the Shire River to see elephant families drinking on the river bank, and they saw elephant on game drives as well. One elephant even slept the night at the back of Ben’s tent, as attested to by a great pile of poo!

As you might imagine, elephant translocation is a huge logistical undertaking. African Parks first identified small herds which would be suitable for moving, as keeping family groups together reduces the stress the animals feel when they arrive in their new home. Each elephant was tranquillised with a dart by a vet, lifted by crane onto a truck, then driven north to Nkhotakhota. On arrival, the elephant were released into a fenced sanctuary so they could get used to their new surroundings.

It was important for Ben to see the elephant in their new home. He arrived at the Tongole Wilderness Lodge, and within minutes saw one large bull elephant bathing in the river just metres away from the camp. It had escaped from the sanctuary area, and seemed to be having a ball!

Ben was able to explore Nkhotakhota by kayak, on a walking safari, and also on an evening game drive. Guide Emmanuel took him right into the sanctuary in the late afternoon, where he saw several small family groups of elephant, including elephant calves. Several babies have been born in Nkhotakhota since the elephant arrived, which is a sure sign that the elephant are comfortable and settling in well. The terrain at

Nkhotakhota might be quite different from their original home in Liwonde, but there’s much more space to roam, and plenty of plants to eat.

Sustainable tourism and wildlife conservation go hand in hand: the Elephant 500 wildlife translocation could not have gone ahead if it weren’t for the funding and support African Parks receives from the tourism sector. When you visit Malawi with Africa Exclusive, you can be confident that your stay is supporting vital conservation work. And nothing beats the thrill of seeing elephant in the wild, safe and enjoying their natural habitat.

Ben Tavener’s BBC report about the Elephant 500 translocation in Malawi was broadcast in November 2017. You can watch it online here . If you would like to repeat his journey and see Malawi’s elephant population for yourself, call us now to speak to one of Africa Exclusive’s destination specialists.

Newsletter signup

All details provided by you will be held by Africa Exclusive and used in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at hello@safari.co.uk.

Why should you book with us?

One of the leading Africa travel specialists for over 25 years, our team has hundreds of years of combined travel experience.

Our specialists have a personal understanding of the destinations they are recommending for you.

You will have your travel planner and a dedicated co-ordinator ensure that you receive the best service from the moment you first contact us until you return from your holiday.

Our detailed planning and preparation will ensure that your holiday runs like clockwork.

Experience impeccable service throughout your holiday with the support of our dedicated and experienced partners on the ground.

We have a 24 hour emergency phone contact, should you need to speak with us while you are away.

Luxury safari pricing guide

We aim to provide you with your ideal holiday, individually designed just for you and expertly organised. When you book with us you receive this perfectly designed holiday, travel advice and preparation, flawless organisation of the trip, ATOL financial protection and our 25 years’ experience. Because we have excellent confidential rates with lodges and airlines, the price of your holiday will be generally the same as you would pay were you to somehow book all the lodges, transfers and flights yourself.

There is a world of difference between one of our tailormade safaris and most package holidays printed in a brochure. Package holidays are usually designed to be as cheap as possible and of course involve large numbers of people doing the same thing. Our safaris use small, more exclusive and remote camps usually with guests flying in, and often virtually everything is included in the price. The experience is completely different.

Many of these small lodges and camps have broadly similar prices, and it is possible to arrange a superb safari holiday for between £6,000 to £10,000 per person ($8,000 – $13,000) season dependant, all inclusive. Realistically it is difficult to reduce that figure, and by including Botswana in peak season, chartering a private plane, disappearing to some magical desert island, or flying at the front of the plane it’s easy to substantially increase that figure!